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Samsung launches ‘smart’ TVs

Samsung has launched its Smart LED TV range in NZ, and calling them that seems like a smart idea.
In a year full of smart portable devices, it’s only natural that a company as aggressive as Samsung is in the marketplace joins the fray towards ‘smart’ in the living room.
The new TVs feature Flash-supported web-browsers, which allow you to browse while watching a show. This might sound distracting, but the appeal is obvious, given the popularity of clarifying a fact by “Googling it”.
They also, of course, allow Twittering, Facebooking, and other forms of social media interaction.
Another cornerstone of the Smart TV range is the Samsung Apps store, which the company are claiming as the world’s first HDTV-based application store.
Other features include ‘Search All’, which supposedly makes it a cinch to search for desired content (on TV, DLNA-certified devices, networked PCs, etc); and ‘Your Video’, which delivers movie recommendations based on a user’s viewing history. We wonder if it differentiates between what the tots watch, and adult viewing time.
Smart LED TV models including the Samsung Series 8, which is described as “the ultimate entertainment showcase”, and costs $5999.95 for a 55-inch.
The Series 7 is $5499.95 for the same size, while the Series 6, described as “the ideal value model”, which we reckon is colloquial for “budget model”, is a mere $3999.95 for the same size.
In all models, a 60-inch version will be available later, at a price yet to be announced.

There’s also a new lineup of plasma screens from the Korean company, and like its other Smart TVs, they’re 3D-capable.

So is its new Smart 3D Blu-ray player and home theatre system, and a range of peripherals/accessories is being issued to complement the LEDs, plasmas and home theatre systems. These include lightweight 3D glasses, a high-definition TV camera, and other products.

One of NZ's most well-regarded music writer/reviewer/editors, Gary Steel has been penning his pungent prose for close to 40 years for publications too numerous to mention. He is currently Metro magazine's music writer, and Witchdoctor's Music Editor (and co-publisher). He has strong opinions and remains unrepentant. Steel's full bio can be found here